Deserter IAF officer escapes from custody

The Indian Air Force and Haryana police are searching for a Wing Commander, who was declared a ‘deserter’ in December last year.

Wing Commander Shashank Shekhar had escaped from the IAF’s custody in Ambala earlier this week, an air force official said. Shekhar, who was with the IAF’s engineering wing and was posted at Raja Sansi-Amritsar air force station, had remained absent from duty since October 24 last year. 

He was declared a deserter on December 21 last year, following which he was detained by IAF personnel at Raiwala in Dehradun on May 11.

He was then brought to the Air-Force station in Ambala. But he managed to escape in the wee hours of May 13. At midnight, he complained of suffocation and asked two officers, who were keeping watch, to allow him to step out for fresh air.

After some time, he made a dash for his freedom and the officers failed to catch him despite giving a chase.

“We have been trying to locate him,” said an IAF spokesperson. 

The Wing Commander’s mother, who lives in Ambala, had written to the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court, expressing fear that her son may be “harmed” by IAF authorities in Amritsar.

She said her son was under severe stress due to the conduct of his seniors at the air force base. But the IAF said he was “disturbed” due to a marital discord as his wife had filed divorce proceedings.